der8auer tests PC chimney effect, dropping CPU temps by 19°C with a 110cm 3D-printed tower
Building one meant understanding what a chimney actually does, which isn't quite what the forum posts assume. Hot air rising is just convection, and it happens around anything warm. A chimney works because that rising air is trapped inside a tall channel, so as it climbs it drags cool air... Read Entire Article
German overclocker der8auer tested the chimney effect, a theory that claims certain case designs provide cooling benefits similar to a chimney. The theory is based on the idea that hot air rises and a tall channel can drag in cool air, creating a cooling effect. However, der8auer discovered that the chimney effect isn't as simple as it seems.
Hot air rises as a result of convection, which occurs around any warm object, not just in tall channels. A normal case doesn't have much height to work with, making the effect much weaker. To test the chimney effect, der8auer built a 110cm 3D-printed tower and placed a water loop inside it. The tower was designed to mimic the pressure difference created by a chimney, but the results showed that the water temperature dropped by nearly 19°C, from around 90°C to 71°C.
While the chimney effect does provide some cooling benefits, fans are still the more practical option as they don't require a full meter of vertical clearance above the desk.
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